Toothbrush rack



June 6, 1961 Filed Oct. 21, 1957 D. E. BURGE TOOTHBRUSH RACK 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR. DAVID E. BURGE BY BM F his ATTORNEYS.

June 6, 1961 SURGE 2,987,194

TOOTHBRUSH RACK Filed Oct. 21, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Z0 d l||| Qg'gggggg INVENTOR. DAVID E. BURGE his ATTORNEYS.

United States Patent 2,987,194 TOOTHBRUSH RACK David E. Burge, Garden City, N.Y., assignor to Lever Brothers Company, New York, N.Y., a corporation of Maine Filed Oct. 21, 1957, Ser. No. 691,471 2 Claims. (Cl. 211-126) This inventio'n relates to display racks and, more particularly, to a display rack adapted to be positioned between two shelves.

In displaying merchandise such as toothbrushes, for example, for retail sale, it is important to place the articles of merchandise in a location where they will be readily accessible for inspection. In cases where counter space is limited or unavailable, however, it is often desirable to utilize shelf space for display, but heretofore it has been impractical to display toothbrushes and similar articles on a shelf because of their size and shape.

Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a new and improved display rack which may be placed on a shelf having trays for toothbrushes and the like adapted to be pulled out for inspection.

Another object of the invention is to provide a display rack of the above character wherein elongated articles such as toothbrushes may be retained in a vertical position.

A further object of the invention is to provide a rack of the above character wherein the trays are automatically returned after being pulled out for inspection.

These and other objects of the invention are accomplished by pivotally mounting tray members near one corner upon a base which is frictionally retained on a shelf by a downwardly directed force. This retaining force is provided by a telescoping shaft vertically mounted on the base and arranged to be pressed against the bottom of the shelf abo've. With the rack thus retained in position, spring bias means may be provided between each tray and the base to urge the tray back to a storage position after it has been pulled out for inspection.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from a reading of the following description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a view in perspective showing a typical display rack arranged according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is a front elevation view of the rack partly in section, taken along the lines 2-2 of FIG. 3 with one of the trays pulled out; and

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the rack illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2.

The toothbrush rack comprises a base member supported on pads or feet 11, composed of rubber or other nonskid material, and having a vertical post 12 mounted thereon wherein a shaft 13 carrying a suction cup 14 or other gripping member is adjustably retained by a screw clamp 15. As best seen in FIG. 2, the rack is adapted to be supported securely between two horizontal shelves 16 and 17 by raising the shaft 13 until the suction cup 14 is pressed against the bottom of the upper shelf 16, thus increasing the frictional engagement of the feet 11 with the lower shelf 17, and tightening the clamp 15.

Pivotally mounted on the base member 10 in bearings 18 and 19 near their front inner corners are two trays 20 and 21 each having a horizontal bottom panel 22 and vertical side panels 23 and 24. The outer end of each tray is slidably supported on a ball bearing 25 mounted near the front of the base 10 and the inner side panel 24 of each tray carries a stop 26 adapted to engage the Patented June 6, 1961 ball bearing 25 after a rotation as shown by the tray 20 in FIGS. 2 and 3. In order to facilitate rotation of the trays 20 and 21 in this manner, a handle 27 is mounted at the front outer corner of each tray. 3

Automatic return of each of the trays to its storage position after it has been pulled out is accomplished by two springs 28, secured to each of the bottom panels 22 at a point 29 and to a common post 30 mounted at the rear of the base member. Cushion members such as rubber bumpers 31 are mounted near the base of the post 12 to engage the inner side panel 24 and stop the trays at the desired position when they are returned, thus absorbing any momentum resulting from the spring action.

Supported by the side members 23 and 24 of each tray and spaced from the bottom member 22 are a pair of wire grids 32 wherein toothbrush cases 33 may be vertically positioned as shown in FIG. 1, thus providing an easily accessible display when the tray has been pulled out and space-saving storage when the tray is returned to its normal position.

Although the invention has been described with reference to a specific embodiment, many variations and modifications thereof will occur to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, the invention is not intended to be restricted in scope except as defined by the following claims.

I claim:

1. A display rack comprising a base member having feet of a nonskid material adapted to engage frictionally a supporting surface, a telescoping shaft vertically mounted on the base member having a suction cup mounted at its upper end to press against an upper surface to increase the frictional engagement of the feet, a clamp to lock the telescoping shaft in position, a pair of trays pivotally mounted on the base member movable between a storage position and a display position, a ball bearing supporting each of the trays at a position spaced from the pivoted mounting, a stop member mounted on each tray to engage the ball hearing when the tray is moved to the display position, and a spring positioned between the base member and each tray tending to retain the tray in the storage position.

2. A display rack comprising a base member adapted to engage frictionally a supporting surface, vertical shaft means of continuously adjustable length mounted on the base member adapted to press against an upper surface to increase the frictional engagement of the base member, means for holding the upper end of the vertical shaft means against the upper surface, tray means supported on the base member at a pivot point spaced from the vertical shaft means and movable between a storage position and a display position, ball bearing means mounted on the base member at a point spaced from the pivot point to provide rolling support for the tray means, stop means on the tray means positioned to engage the ball bearing means when the tray means is moved to the display position, and bias means normally urging the tray means toward the storage position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

